Historic Motels & Inns in California

Ingleside Estate

Palm Springs, CA

A 1922 Spanish Colonial Revival landmark hidden behind lush hedges on two and a half private acres, steps from downtown yet a world away. Dinner at Melvyn's piano bar, unchanged since Old Hollywood gathered here, is the ritual you build the whole stay around.

Casa Cody

Palm Springs, CA

The oldest operating stay in town, born in the 1920s and still centered on a 1910 adobe, with casitas layered in Zellige tile, dark wood, and deep desert color. Two pools, a hidden whirlpool spa, and a wine cellar with an opera-singer past reward guests who settle in.

Jacumba Hot Springs Hotel

Jacumba Hot Springs, CA

A Prohibition-era hot springs hotel restored in adobe and exposed vigas, whose three spring-fed mineral pools brought a bypassed border town back to life. Between the high-desert restaurant, the live music, and a painted vintage trailer at check-in, it feels less like a hotel than a place that was rediscovered.

Lamp Lighter Inn

Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA

A cluster of storybook Carmel cottages scattered along garden paths beneath an ancient grove, three blocks from the white sand of Carmel Beach. Fire pits, hidden gazebos, and quirky named rooms make each stay feel like finding a corner of the village most visitors walk right past.

Inn by the Harbor

Santa Barbara, CA

A dependable harbor-district landing spot three blocks from the waterfront, with full-kitchen rooms, a morning spread, and an afternoon wine and cheese hour around the courtyard pool. It trades boutique flourish for genuine walkable convenience, an easy basecamp for beach days and longer coastal stays.